Books of 2015

I read 33 books during 2015 and it was for the most part it was a great year with lots of amazing books including a few classics and a good mix of genres. But which one takes the honor of being my "Ordinary Book of the Year"? In true chart fashion I will count down the entries from 33 to the top spot. The criteria and scores can be found here. But lets get things started with 33 to 22

No 33 - Think Like a Freak - Stephen D Levit & Stephen J Dubner The follow up to the follow up of the amazingly brilliant Freakonomics. Sadly this one only isn't. A couple of great chapters but I expect better to be honest.

No 32 - Mindfulness Pocketbook - Gill HassonI think this is meant as a compliment to the main book called Mindfulness by the same author. In the train station book shop I thought it was going to be similar to "The Art of Thinking Clearly" by Ralf Dobelli. My mistake that the book is ranked this low and not the authors​

No 31 - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - F. Scott Fitzgerald - AudiobookA collection of short stories from the author of "The Great Gatsby". The first that gives the collection its title is by far the best. The idea of a baby being born as a 70 year old man who proceeds to get younger instead of older is interesting and reminiscent of "The Shrinking Man" by Richard Matheson. ​

No 30 - Guy Martin - Guy Martin A bike lovers idea of book paradise. Far from the worst biography I have ever read and Guy Martin comes across as very likeable. I did get a real sense of how it might feel to ride and crash a bike at 170 mph on the country roads of the Isle of Man. ​

No 29 - Would You Kill the Fat Man - David Edmonds - AudiobookThis was a fairly random leftfield pick from the library but I really liked it. The Trolley Problem is an ethical one. A tram is on course to kill five tied up people on a railway track. The only way to save them is to push a fat man who is standing next to you on a bridge above the track so that he falls and stops the tram but killing him in the process. The book debates the question should you do it?​

No 28 - The Happiness Hypothesis - Jonathan HaidtThis book is far better than this position suggests. I read this early in the year when life was very busy so I just couldn't remember it clearly enough but I do remember the author coming across as very confident which bordered on arrogant. The book details ancient wisdom on the keys to happiness and looks at it with the mind of a scientist and was very well researched.​

No 27 - Happiness by Design - Paul DolanBought primarily because of the Daniel Kahneman quote on the front cover, economist turned scientist Paul Dolan takes on the science of happiness and it is a good addition to the bookshelf. The Pleasure Purpose Principle (PPP) is very well argued and his confession that he has never read a book of fiction by choice one of the more interesting quotes I found all year. ​

No 26 - The Last Rhinos - Lawrence AnthonyThe book details another adventure of "The Elephant Whisperer" Lawrence Anthony, this time to try and save the Northern White Rhino. It is a sad book for many reasons and never reaches the heights of the truly amazing The Elephant Whisperer. The politics of Africa, the children kidnapped to become soldiers and the millions of people forced to sleep on the city streets are its main legacy. ​

No 25 - My Animals and Other Family - Claire Balding - AudiobookAnother title picked only out of audiobook desperation at the library. I NEED books for the boring commutes to work! The story, read by the author, of her childhood was almost painfully honest, laugh out loud funny and always very interesting. The only problem. The last CD was missing!! ​

No 24 - The Year of Reading Dangerously - Andy Miller Andy Miller decides to create a The List of Betterment of 50 books he had always meant to or felt he ought to read. I feel I am fairly well read so I was looking forward to getting some good ideas and comparing notes. Little did I know what a wake up call this would be. I had not heard of at least half the books on the list and the only books I had read Andy Miller hated. But it was fun if not dangerous and I learned more about literature than I had since A Level English Lit. ​

No 23 - The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle - AudiobookI had never read any Sherlock Holmes previously so I wasn't sure what to expect. The first story "Silver Blaze" was great especially because I now properly understand the meaning behind the title of Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime". It got a bit samey and I am not sure I will go back for more Sherlock in a hurry though. Number 23 is about right.

No 22 - Mindset - Dr Carol DweckThis could of been a contender. The concept of the fixed and growth mindsets, how we deal with failure and the messages that we pass onto our kids with how and when we choose to praise them is very insightful. I think it has helped me in parenthood since reading it. BUT her choice of examples and role models actually made me angry. Alex Rodriquez being the worst of them. A man once nicknamed A-Fraud who has admitted taking performance drugs and whose wife filed for divorce citing extra marital affairs. Completely undermined the book.